


Sweets for my Sweet

by Ziam_Time



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Chocolate, Domestic Fluff, Flowers, Fluff, Gift Giving, M/M, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 11:39:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17786672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ziam_Time/pseuds/Ziam_Time
Summary: Liam sat desolately on the massive couch next to the fireplace, digging into the tub of mint choco chip icecream, and feeling sorry for himself. Valentine’s day was almost over, it was well after 9 pm, and there was no sign of his boyfriend.





	Sweets for my Sweet

**Author's Note:**

  * For [JoMouse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoMouse/gifts).



> This fic was written as part of The Ziam Club’s Valentine’s Day Gift Exchange, for the prompt last box of chocolates in the store, for Jo Mouse. Tried to combine it with the prompt, spending Valentine’s day alone with a carton of ice cream.  
> Happy Valentine’s day Jo Mouse. I’m a huge fan of your writing. I hope you like this.
> 
> Mistakes, if any, are solely mine. No connection to Zayn or Liam or anyone mentioned.  
> 😊 Enjoy! (See the end of this work for more notes.)

Liam:

The sun had set a while ago. It was chilly outside but their penthouse suite in Soho was warm and cozy. It was in an exclusive neighbourhood with an extremely high level of security. Liam had started up their electric fireplace and lit up half a dozen of the huge, vanilla-scented pillar candles, placed on the mantle. The TV was on, volume turned low, and some romantic film was playing for Valentine’s day. He was dressed in his grey joggers and a pale pink sweatshirt. His boyfriend loved that colour on him and constantly bought him clothes in different shades of peach and pink, of course, stealing them for himself almost all the time.

Zayn had called around 7 pm and apologised for running late. His meeting in the studio, with the producers was extended and he may not be home for another few hours. Liam had reassured him that it was okay, and that dinner will be kept warm in the oven. Both boys had a busy day scheduled and decided to celebrate Valentine’s day with dinner at home (Indian and Thai takeout) around 7 pm.

Liam had finished his song writing earlier in the evening and rushed to the store to buy the flowers and candy for his beautiful boyfriend. He had gone home and quickly showered and changed. He set up the iPod dock by the towels on the rack after placing some lavender-scented candles and bath bombs by the tub, to be used later that night after dinner.

Liam had bought his gift in London and had managed to sneak it into his cupboard, two days ago, as soon as he arrived. He had placed it inside a small Ziploc. He now carefully unsealed the box of giant strawbs, careful not to cause any damage, and removed about half a dozen gummi bears from inside. He carefully used a fork (yeah, yeah, he still avoided spoons, so sue him!) to push aside the candy, and gently placed his Ziploc pouch inside and rearranged the candy, until the pouch was completely hidden. He used a black marker and wrote a message on the box. With a satisfied smile, Liam closed and resealed the box and placed it on the side table beside the living room couch.

Right on time, the special delivery from Jacques Torres, the gourmet chocolatier, had arrived. Liam had asked for the chocolate puzzle pieces (a new one this year and ideal for what Liam had in mind) and _The Kissing Game_ (a favourite for the boys), a fun chocolate board game as the name implied. He had also placed an order for 2 gourmet hampers of _Chocolate All Year_ , for their families. Liam placed the gift hampers carefully on the dining table, clicking a picture. He placed the ‘ _I Love You Puzzle_ ’ chocolate box on the side table over the box of Giant strawbs from London. He left _The Kissing Game_ chocolate box on the centre table next to a tall cylindrical glass vase semi-filled with water with a single stem of beautiful pale pink orchids. It was surrounded by a few floating candles in glass vases with dark pink orchid petals at the bottom.

When Zayn had called about the delay, Liam decided to sprawl on the couch and watch some film whilst checking his social media. Around 8 pm he had called for the takeout and currently the food was kept warm in the oven. Feeling hungry around 9 pm, but refusing to eat without his boyfriend, Liam scrounged around in the refrigerator and came up with a tub of mint choco chip ice cream. This will do nicely until dinner, he decided.

A few minutes later, Liam sat desolately on the massive couch next to the fireplace, digging into the tub of semi-melted mint choco chip icecream, and feeling sorry for himself. Valentine’s day was almost over, it was well after 9 pm, and there was no sign of his boyfriend. He eyed the box of Giant Strawbs nervously. It was Zayn’s favourite flavour but would he like the surprise inside? Liam sighed softly and waited …

 

Zayn:

He was running late! Damn the crazy Manhattan traffic, but really Zayn cannot blame anyone. It was Valentine’s day after all. He had planned to be home by 7 pm for dinner with Liam and had wound up at the studio by 6 pm. He picked up the extra-large gift sack hidden in his studio for the past week and headed to the car.

All that remained was a quick run to Kee’s before going home. As he entered Kee’s, the Gourmet Chocolatier, the heady scent of chocolates and macarons hit him. He was taken to the back room, by Andrea the assistant who was a huge 1D fan and always indulged the boys with extra goodies.

Kee rushed up to him with a nervous smile and rushed out, “Zayn, please accept my apologies. We ran out of the truffles you wanted, and the last box was sold just before your phone call. However, I was confident that I could make a fresh batch, but we had a small technical problem. Your chocolates will be delayed by an hour. They are setting now in the refrigerator and I will only be able to add on your secret message once they are hardened. I am so sorry.”

Zayn was disappointed slightly, but ever generous, he reassured Kee, “That’s alright. I want everything to be perfect Kee. You know how much this means to me and it _must_ happen today. I’ll just call my boyfriend and let him know I’ll be late.”

Done with the quick apologetic call, Zayn sauntered over to the comfortable couch and started browsing on his phone. Andrea came over with a mug of steaming hot chocolate and a plate of assorted, warm, freshly-baked macarons. He smiled at her gratefully and chatted about her plans for Valentine’s day.

Andrea sighed and whispered, “Haven’t had the time to shop for my fiancé yet Zayn. Was hoping to leave early and shop on the way home but we were delayed due to the technical issues and now I can only leave after we complete the last order, which happens to be yours.”

Zayn was instantly apologetic and guilty, “I’m so sorry babe. I wasn’t aware of that. Tell you what, maybe I can help avoid further delay so that you can go home straight to your fiancé.”

“But how, I still have to buy him a gift.”

Zayn smiled and leading a surprised Andrea by the hand, he walked purposefully to the front where the chocolates were displayed. He selected a pink, heart-shaped box with a dozen assorted gourmet truffles and an empty pink, square box. He directed Andrea to fill the empty box with one dozen of their special saffron-filled macarons. The saffron was specially imported from Spain and was very popular at Kee’s Chocolates. He then asked Andrea to place them both inside their special pink and white carry bags for Valentine’s day. He asked her to add it to his overall bill and swiped his card.

Zayn handed over the pink bag to Andrea and said, with a wink, “Enjoy your evening with Steven babe. Here’s your shopping done.”

He shrugged and pushed aside her soft protests with, “It’s the least I could do Andrea. Liam would have my hide if he knew you were delayed because of me. You know how much he adores you.”

Andrea flushed and quickly hugged Zayn feeling a sense of immense relief and deep gratitude for these two angels in her life.

Zayn left an hour later, clutching the special bag, and instructed his driver cum bodyguard Vincent to head home. Zayn handed over a box of assorted gourmet chocolates to Vincent, “These are for your wife and you Vinnie. Happy Valentine’s day.” Vincent smiled in response, and accepted the gift, well used to the boys’ generosity, knowing it did no good to refuse.

It was a little after 8 pm but what should have been a 20-min drive to their home, took more than an hour due to the horrendous traffic. He wanted to just take the gifts and walk home; Vincent gave him such a withering look, Zayn could only huff in annoyance and sit back and sulk.

 

Zayn & Liam:

Liam heard the key turn and set down the ice cream, before excitedly rushing to the door. Zayn crashed into his broad chest, burying his nose in Liam’s neck, “I’m so sorry, meri jaan. Traffic was terrible and Vincent refused to let me walk.” He looked up from the safety of his boyfriend’s arms and glared sullenly at Vincent who rolled his eyes fondly and walked past the boys into the living room, carrying a few bags.

Liam chuckled but kissed Zayn quickly and held him close before stating gratefully, “Thank you Vinnie. I can always count on you to protect my gorgeous and stubborn boyfriend.”

Zayn squawked and looked up at Liam in betrayal. Liam just grinned and kissed Zayn’s scrunched-up nose. “Happy Valentine’s Day Vinnie. Enjoy your evening. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

Zayn sighed at that and gave Vincent a quick hug, “Sorry you had to stay late Vinnie. Have fun. See ya.”

“Thank you again for the chocolates Zayn. Enjoy your evening boys.” their bodyguard left with a wave, shutting the door behind him.

Liam whooped and picked up Zayn bridal style and went to the living room. He sat on the couch, holding his boyfriend on his lap. He helped Zayn remove his jacket as he kicked off his shoes and socks. He wiggled his bare toes and settled comfortably against Liam’s chest. Liam held him close with one arm and slipped the fingers of his free hand inside Zayn’s white Henley, stroking his firm, flat tummy.

Zayn looked in awe at all the amazing things his boyfriend had done for their special evening, the candles, flowers, chocolates. The room had a soft glow from the fireplace and the candles smelled amazingly woodsy and vanilla. Orchids were his favourite flower. Liam was always keen on the finer details, always pampering Zayn and showering him with presents. He was overwhelmed with love and kissed his boyfriend passionately to show his appreciation. Liam came up for air after a few minutes, muttering,  

“I missed you baby. Are you hungry? Do you want to eat first or…”

“Missed you too meri jaan. I drank some hot chocolate earlier. Not really feeling hungry. Do you want to eat now or after the presents?”

Zayn peppered Liam’s face with tiny soft kisses, making him shiver with the attention.

“I found your tub of mint choco chip babe. I’m not hungry either. Food is warm in the oven. Let’s do presents now. Who should go first?” Liam gushed eagerly.

Zayn smiled nervously and slid off his boyfriend’s lap, amidst protests, “One at a time.” He walked to the corner and brought back the two bags Vincent had brought in earlier. He left the smaller paper bag on the carpet, next to the table. Liam’s eyes widened as Zayn kissed his forehead and placed the huge gift sack in his arms, “Happy Valentine’s day Leeyum”.

Liam peeked into the huge gift sack and squealed in delight, pulling out the gift. It was a giant, fluffy, super soft, brown Teddy bear. It was at least 4 feet tall. He cuddled the teddy with one arm and pulled in Zayn with his other, kissing him soundly, “I love it Zaynie.”

“The minute I saw it, it remined me of you my darling boyfriend. You know that you are always my teddy bear” Zayn explained softly.

Liam giggled and buried his nose in the soft teddy, deciding, “It will help us cuddle, when one of us needs to travel”. He set aside the teddy, seating it on the corner of the couch and sat next to Zayn again. He took the chocolate box of puzzle pieces and set it on Zayn’s lap with a grin, “Happy Valentine’s Day Zee”.

Zayn tore open the gift-wrapped box and smiled at the chocolate box from Jacques Torres. He opened it and saw the haphazardly placed chocolates. He frowned and looked up at Liam questioningly.

Liam simply shrugged with a grin and said, “Go on then. Solve the puzzle.”

“Now”? asked Zayn with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, yes, yes babe, now. It’s only a few pieces.”

Zayn rolled his eyes at his enthusiastic boyfriend and sat forward with the chocolate box in his lap. He placed the pieces on a clean white serviette on the centre table. Within a few seconds, he had completed the heart-shaped puzzle, reading ‘I LOVE YOU’.

He chuckled in delight and climbed on to his boyfriend’s lap, “I love you too meri jaan. My dorky jaan.”

Liam bit his lip shyly and whispered into Zayn’s ear, “Bought us The Kissing Game as well babe. We can save it for dessert though”.

“Ha, you remember what happened last year when we were playing, after dinner, in the tub…”

“Hmmm, one of the best Valentine’s day gifts ever!”

Zayn softly pecked Liam on his nose and got up to get the paper bag. He pulled out the gift-wrapped box and sat close to Liam. He looked nervously at his boyfriend and muttered breathlessly, “This is the reason I was actually delayed Li. Not the studio. They ran out of the stuff I needed. The last box was sold just before I asked for it and I had to wait for a fresh batch and then …”

Zayn gave the box to a puzzled Liam who pulled in his boyfriend for a soothing kiss, “S’ok baby. Stop and breathe. Whatever it is, you’re here now and that’s all that matters to me”.

Zayn wrapped an arm around his boyfriend’s shoulder and watched his face carefully.

Liam removed the huge bow and unwrapped the box.

“Ahhhh” he screamed happily reading the label on top. “You went to Kee’s. Why didn’t you tell me, you dork? How’s Andrea? Hope you bought her some of the macarons as a gift”.

Liam’s rambling came to an abrupt halt and he gasped as he opened the lid of the box.

Nestled in soft, deep purplish-red satin were Kee’s gourmet chocolates. There were a dozen chocolates; three rows of white chocolate truffles with cognac alternating with champagne truffles with dark chocolate ganache. But that was not the reason for Liam’s gasp. In beautiful Victorian writing, the following words were carefully detailed with gold foil, one letter per truffle,

“MARRY ME JAAN?”

Zayn was genuinely getting nervous now. It had been a whole minute since his boyfriend opened the box and read the proposal. Liam sat unmoving, staring at it, clutching the box so tightly, Zayn was afraid it might get damaged. Zayn gently squeezed Liam’s shoulder and whispered, “Jaan, are you okay? I love you so much Liam. Always have, always will. It’s okay if you’re not okay with this. I don’t even have a ring. Thought we could select it together after you said yes. Anyway, we’ll talk about it later. Say something. Look at me please, baby.” He placed a hand gently on Liam’s face, cupping his cheek and gently nudging his face towards him.

Liam leaned forward and placed the box on the table right next to the puzzle pieces spelling out ‘I LOVE YOU’. He pulled out his phone and quickly snapped off a picture of both chocolate boxes. He turned then, with a wide smile, and wet eyes, and cupping his boyfriend’s face gently with both hands, whispered, “Not only are you the most beautiful man in the world, but you have no idea how beautiful you make me feel, by being with me and loving me and by being mine. You are my soulmate Zee. You are my world, my entire world, the reason for my existence. I can never ever explain how much I love and adore you. I can only hope and pray that I can show you in this lifetime and every lifetime after, if there is such a thing. I love you so much baby.”

Liam leaned forward and kissed Zayn long and deep, soft and hard. Both the boys had tears streaming down their cheeks, overwhelmed by love and life and everything in between.

Liam wiped Zayn’s face and smiled gently, “My turn now for a present. One more for you Zaynie.”

Zayn grinned in anticipation, though he felt a slight niggle that Liam actually, hadn’t said ‘Yes’! Ah, Well! He’ll leave that for later. He chuckled when Liam handed him another box with the sharpie-written message, ‘ALL YOU NEED TO SURVIVE A ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE’ and a tiny skull and bones sketch.

He quickly snapped a picture of the candy for his Instagram. He wanted to show off (to anyone who was following Zayn and Liam and believed in their love) that his dorky boyfriend had brought his favourite candy all the way from London and written a dorky message on it.

“How on earth did you manage to hide this from me for two days babe. I cannot wait until dessert. No siree, let’s have some right now please, Leeyum.”

“I was hoping you’d feel that way” Liam mumbled under his breath.

“What’s that jaan”? Zayn mumbled around a mouthful of Giant strawbs. He picked out one more and fed it to Liam, who ate it up obediently. Just a couple more and Zayn would find…

“Oh gosh, there’s something in here Li. Don’t eat it. Spit it out! What if it’s old, spoilt candy. Wait, what on earth!”

Liam swallowed thickly and watched as Zayn pulled out the Ziploc, eyes narrowing. He carefully removed the small red velvet box with Cartier inscribed on it. He held his breath and carefully opened the box to find not one, but two nearly-identical rings nestled in black velvet. The rings were platinum and there was a single diamond in the centre with smooth concentric circles of yellow gold in one and rose gold in the other. He gasped at the simple yet elegant beauty of Liam’s choice.

He threw his arms around Liam’s neck, clinging to him and crying softly, “Oh, meri jaan, I bought the chocolates and you bought the rings, all in one day. This must be the craziest proposal ever. I was so nervous Liam, even after you saw the chocolates and said everything, you didn’t tell me “Yes”. In fact, I was…” Zayn trailed off as Liam rubbed his back, calming him down.

“Hush you. As if there could be another answer but, ‘Yes’!”

“Tell me then Leeyum,” Zayn whispered, leaning back a bit, looking deep into the beautiful soft, brown eyes of his boyfriend, “Marry Me, Jaan?”

Liam’s eyes nearly squeezed shut with the extent of his squishy smile. The crinkles deepened as he replied reverently, “Yes, my love, _YES_ , only when you marry me”!

The boys held each other tight, hugging and kissing and Zayn observed, “The rings are beautiful Li. They’re quite identical yet different, just like us”

Liam removed the rings and showed the inscriptions on the inside of their rings.

‘Always Mine’ for Zayn, on the ring with pink gold inlay.

‘Ever Yours’ for Liam on the ring with yellow gold circles.

The boys slipped it on each other’s fingers and sealed their love. Zayn sat astride Liam’s lap and clung like a koala to his fiancé. _Oh Boy! That word sounded sweet_.

They held hands and took a picture of their new bling. They chose to tell their families and friends after a couple of days, needing to celebrate privately, their new engaged status.

Liam got up, still holding on to Zayn, and walked into the kitchen to get their dinner, which turned out to be messy and prolonged, thanks to all the finger feeding and frequent smooching. Neither boy complained.

Liam sent Zayn up, to start the bath. He blew out the candles and quickly cleaned up the mess in the kitchen. He picked up the chocolate game and went to the ensuite in their bedroom.

He discovered his fiancé had already lit up the lavender-scented candles. Their romantic playlist on the iPod was on. The boys popped the champagne and clinked their flutes in celebration. With identical smiles and full hearts, Zayn and Liam got into their massive jacuzzi, with the special box of Jacques Torres chocolates, The Kissing Game.

The next day morning, lazing sleepily in bed, both boys agreed, it had been without doubt, the best Valentine’s day ever.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. Please don’t forget to leave kudos and comments, they are my manna from fic readers heaven!
> 
> Drop by & talk to me on Twitter @Ziam_Time  
> If you are a die-hard Ziam-till-I-die fan, do follow our group on Tumblr at theziamclub and on Twitter @The_Ziam_Club
> 
> xx Chitra


End file.
